Buying Gold or Art As Inflation Protecttion?

The question frequently arises whether art is an inflation hedge. 

It isn't per se. More often the answer to beating inflation may be buying gold. However, the correct answer here is not what you probably expect. (Follow my past comments on beating inflation.)

Gold sounds plausable to many as I have commented in the past on the pros and cons.

But what type of gold investment are you seeking? You can trade gold as a commodity, as many do. At times, even government trades impact short-term supply/demand and thus prices..

Want a genuine inflation hedge? Sorry. For 25 years, from 1985 to 2010, consumer prices went up a bit more than 200%. Yet, during this time, gold prices were off by about 20%,

Want to head for the hills in an emergency? Gold bars are too heavy; rare gold coins would do it. But try this only in a dire emergency.

Need a weakened dollar hedge? Gold is still not a panacea. It offers no earnings. And has storage and insurance costs if bought outright. This isn’t too bad when interest rates are low, but proves costly when interest rates rise. And you can be sure interest rates will go far higher as inflation becomes more of an economic factor for the Federal Reserve’s attention.

Moreover, higher interest rates generally spell a stronger dollar, and more pressure on gold.